From 1 October a metered taxi in Prague has no city maximum fare. The cap had been raised only on 1 August. The transport deputy mayor says he did not agree to scrap it, and wants it back.
What the cap was
From 1 August the maximum was 70 crowns (£2.44) to start, 42 crowns (£1.46) a kilometre, and 7 crowns (£0.24) a minute of waiting. Sterling is the Czech National Bank rate for 9 October 2026, 28.745 crowns to £1, to the nearest penny.
That order covered only a vehicle the law requires to carry a meter, and only a trip that started and finished inside Prague. A driver could always charge less. A journey that crossed the city boundary was outside the cap.
From 1 January the ceilings were split. A petrol or diesel cab could charge 60 crowns (£2.09) to start and 36 crowns (£1.25) a kilometre. An electric cab could charge 70 crowns (£2.44) to start and 39 crowns (£1.36) a kilometre. Waiting was 7 crowns (£0.24) a minute either way. The August order put both on the same three rates. Price order 1/2026
The city said the cap was there because a passenger, especially a visitor, cannot know the route or the final fare, and a driver can take advantage of that. It also said written complaints about high fares rose in the first quarter of 2026, mostly from foreign tourists.
What changed on 1 October
Prague City Hall cancelled that order on 30 September and set no new ceiling. The published reason is one sentence. The leadership of Prague decided to end taxi price regulation. Czech Television
App bookings such as Uber and Bolt were already outside it. City spokesman Vít Hofman said the finance ministry removed price regulation for those services at the start of 2025.
Who agreed it
That is disputed. Hofman first told Zdopravy that deputy mayor Jaromír Beránek sent the tax and prices department an instruction on 30 June to cancel the order. Zdopravy
Beránek, a Pirate, says the letter asked for a proposal, to be discussed in the city's committees. He says the coalition had no agreed position after talks with taxi representatives in the spring. Those talks included mayor Bohuslav Svoboda, of the Civic Democrats.
The letter opens by saying he was acting after a decision by the city's leadership to end the regulation.
Beránek says the department cancelled the cap anyway. He opposes that and wants it reviewed as soon as possible. The old ceilings have not been restored.
He also said that for almost two years the cap has been an administrative price order, handled by that department, rather than a decision of the council.
What passengers are being told
Tomáš Prouza, president of the Czech Confederation of Commerce and Tourism, said the city had removed the protection without warning people, and that a ride costing tens of thousands of crowns is only a matter of time. That is his warning. No fare of that size has been reported under the new rules.
The confederation is telling residents and visitors to check the terms before they get into a metered cab, and to use an app when they want the price fixed before the ride.